“That we should no longer be
children, tossed to and from and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by
the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but
speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things unto Him who is the head—Christ.”—Ephesians
4:14-15
Spiritual growth
should not be taken for granted. It is a
good idea to assess our spiritual
maturity and growth by comparing our attitudes and beliefs to the Word of
God. I heard an older minister say one
time chronological age has nothing to do with spiritual maturity. I agree
with that statement, and add this from a twenty-something-year-old man who
said, “I have been raised in church all my life, but it was not until I made a
decision to seek out biblical truth for myself that I began to grow out of my
sin nature and manifest the nature of God.”
Some spiritual benchmarks to help us evaluate our spiritual growth and development are:
We can know that
we are growing spiritually when we become increasingly aware of who Christ is
in us and who we are in Christ. This
awareness begins to manifest Christ’s qualities to the world around us. Instead of being fearful, we become
faith-filled. Instead of hateful, we
become loving and kind. We become fruit
bearers; instead of, fruit inspectors.
We lay aside
self-reliance and become reliant upon the grace of God working in our lives.
Growing in
spiritually maturity we turn away from wrongdoing and embrace
righteousness. Our desire to live
righteously intensifies and the attraction of sin lessens.
We view
difficulties as opportunities for spiritual growth and development.
I encourage you to keep pressing toward the goal for the
prize of your upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us leave behind the unfruitful works of
the flesh and press for the spiritual
maturity that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Prayer—Father I thank
You that You are leading me in the paths of righteousness for Your name
sake. Today, I purpose in my heart to
lay aside every weight of sin and press for the prize and I ask You Lord for Your
grace, mercy and help so that I can be spiritually mature, in Jesus Name. Amen.
